CONTENTS:
- HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI MAHARAJA
- THE MEANING OF VYASA PUJA WRITTEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI MAHARAJA IN 1981 FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA
- SRI VYASA PUJA ADDRESS BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI MAHARAJA
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- A POEM FROM ALL YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS DEAR FATHER
1. HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI MAHARAJA
His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami was born in Bengal in 1945 and spent most of his early life in the city of Calcutta. In 1970, he left India to study in Germany. Coming across Vedic literatures while in Germany, he discovered the richness of India’s spiritual heritage. In 1975 he returned to India to wholeheartedly pursue spiritual life.
After thoroughly studying the Vedic scriptures, Maharaj became aware of the need to find a spiritual master who could lead him on a sound spiritual course. After searching for one year without coming across a spiritual master to whom he could fully surrender, he felt despondent and disappointed. When he almost gave up hope, he came across a book called The Nectar of Devotion by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada).
Becoming engrossed in the depths of that book, he realised that he had found his spiritual master and the path for which he was searching. As he continued to read Srila Prabhupada’s works, his conviction grew stronger, as did his desire to meet Srila Prabhupada. At that time, Srila Prabhupada was in America. Maharaj joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple in Mayapur and became more involved in devotional service to the Lord, all the while awaiting Srila Prabhupada’s return to India.
When Srila Prabhupada returned to India at the end of 1976, the first meeting between guru and aspiring disciple finally took place. From their very first meeting, Srila Prabhupada gave Maharaj the assignment of translating his books into Bengali and made him his Secretary for Indian Affairs. Within only a few months, Srila Prabhupada gave Maharaj initiation into the disciplic succession and soon thereafter, awarded him the renounced order of Sannyasa.
Along side his official responsibilities, Maharaj translated all of Srila Prabhupada’s works on major Vedic literatures, consisting of more than fifty volumes of books, into Bengali, as Srila Prabhupada had instructed in their very first meeting. Subsequently, he became a member of the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and served as the Chairman of the Governing Body in 1989.
In 1996, Maharaj took on the mammoth task of making a biographical video epic on the life of his spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. This video series, entitled Abhay Charan was broadcast on national television in India, and has been seen all over the world. Maharaj established the Veda Foundation to pursue spiritual projects for the benefit of ISKCON, and the foundation now produces and distributes audio and video products. In 2006, His Holiness opened a beautiful new temple in the ancient holy city of Ujjain, also known as Avantika, the place where Krishna and Balarama went to school. The temple has three huge alters for the worship of Sri Sri Radha Madanmohan, Sri Sri Krishna Balarama and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. His Holiness currently has responsibility as a GBC Zonal Secretary for Mayapur, Kolkata, Ujjain and Bhubaneswar. His Holiness travels all over the world to fulfil Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to him to spread the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He regularly visits India, USA, UK, South Africa, UAE and Australia.
2. THE MEANING OF VYASA PUJA WRITTEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI MAHARAJA IN 1981 FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA
Puja means “worship” and Vyasa or Srila Vyasadeva is the compiler and supreme authority on Vedic literature. Vyasa Puja literally means “the worship of Vyasa”, refers to the worship of the genuine spiritual master who is the ideal representative of Srila Vyasadeva on the occasion of his appearance day.
The spiritual master is the representative of Srila Vyasadeva because he is distributing the nectar that Srila Vyasadeva churned out of the ocean of the Vedas. Veda means “knowledge” the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah By all the Vedas I am to be known. The ultimate objective of the Vedas is to reveal the identity of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And that Vedic revelation becomes manifest in the heart of the conditioned soul by the mercy of the spiritual master because he has been especially empowered by the Lord to bestow that mercy. That is why the spiritual master is the most worthy representative of Srila Vyasadeva, the original distributor of the Vedas.
Om ajnana timirandhasya, we are born in the darkest ignorance. Although we had eyes we could not see. Whatever we saw was nothing but a reflection of reality- eternal, spiritual reality and we mistook that reflection to be real. We are living in a world of dim reflections and all our experiences were nothing but dreams. Our spiritual master opened our eyes with the torch of knowledge, the knowledge about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all causes and the source of everything. Tasmai sri gurave namah we offer our respectful obeisances to the lotus feet of that spiritual master. Our self-surrender unto him out of heartfelt gratitude is our spontaneous worship of his lotus feet.
The spiritual master reveals transcendental knowledge within our hearts. Krishna’s identity is revealed. His transcendental pastimes are revealed, His eternal relationship with His associates is revealed and we get a sublime taste of the absolute knowledge and eternal bliss. He guides us to the spiritual sky and satisfies the deepest longings of the soul. This causes our heart to melt in the fire of gratitude and compels us to surrender completely unto His lotus feet. This offering of the self in spontaneous dedication is the true worship of the spiritual master, The Vyasa Puja.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is sitting in everyone’s heart as the Super soul waiting for the living entity to turn towards Him and recognise Him as his dear most friend.
Kona bhagye kona jivera sraddha yadi haya Out of sheer good fortune, when someone turns his face towards Krishna and develops the faith that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Tabe sei jiva sadhusanga je karaya then Krishna arranges for him to associate with the sadhus, the devotees. Sadhu sanga haite haya sravana kirtana. In the association of devotees, he hears about Krishna and gradually starts to comprehend his glories. The association with the pure devotee enchants him and he feels very much drawn toward the bona fide spiritual master. He feels as if his guru has stolen his heart away. He cannot help but love him with all his heart and soul and in that love, he offers himself as the sacrifice at his lotus feet. As the external manifestation of the Super soul, the genuine spiritual master appears before us so that we can see him with our material sense but his form is not material, his words are not material and he has nothing to do with the material nature. He appears here simply out of Krishna’s causeless mercy; the bona fide spiritual master becomes perceivable to our material senses simply to spiritualise our hearts to become submerged in the ocean of transcendental bliss. He tells us, “Do not hesitate to depend on Krishna. Just surrender to Him and He will give you everything you need.”
Trusting the spiritual master, we surrender more and more and as our surrender increases, we are increasingly drawn towards him. We renounce our material identity and in return we achieve the highest benedictions, the rejuvenation of our lost relationship with the Supreme Self, Sri Krishna.
The external manifestation of the Super soul, the bona fide spiritual master, takes us by the hand and teaches us how to walk on the platform, then one day just as he appeared to us out of Krishna’s mercy he disappears from our limited vision out of that same causeless mercy. Though no longer physically present he watches how much we are surrendering ourselves unto him. Silently, he says, “When I was with you, you used to say so eloquently how much you love me. Now is the time for you to prove your love for me. Real love flourishes in the fire of separation. Now prove that your surrender to me was not impelled by material motives but inspired by love that fills the heart with the resolute determination to follow my orders. Do not deceive yourself thinking that I am gone. I instructed you not to trust your senses. So do not trust your senses and think that I am gone. If you love me then find out where I am and thus you will attain the Kingdom of Krishna, Goloka Vrindavan. Do not deviate from following my instructions as they are. Do not try to concoct some meaning out of them simply to suit your need. Do not make my instructions a convenience for your sense gratification.
Become free from the bondage of matter, otherwise how can you go back to Godhead? Unless you are totally surrendered, unconditionally the gates to the spiritual sky will not be open for you. Krishna will judge you according to your submission to me because I am his representative. Your scholarship or expertise will not be of any use unless they are surrendered to Him through me with unalloyed devotion and intense dedication. By Krishna’s arrangement I appeared before you in my physical form and made you aware that my instructions are non-different from me. In my instructions, I am unchanging and eternal. That is where you will find me. If you love me then come and associate with my instructions, embrace them with all sincerity and make them your existence. If you want to worship me then let this be the standard. I do not need the flowers that are offered without love nor the food that is prepared without devotion. I want yourself as an offering and that is how you worship the representative of Srila Vyasadeva. That is the meaning of Vyasa Puja.”
3. SRI VYASA PUJA ADDRESS BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI
Downstairs at Srila Prabhupada’s quarters I was making the bhoga offering to Prabhupada and was feeling so happy and relaxed. In spiritual life, service is the most important; it is through service that we remain safely situated in our spiritual lives. Through our service we experience joy. Service is the most important thing. Service is our constitutional activity and our constitutional position is eternal servants therefore through service we feel completely relaxed, safe and secures. Since I assumed the responsibility of being a spiritual master, I have tried to avoid Vyasa Puja. Vyasa puja should be grand as it is the worship of Vyasadeva. I am the via medium to Vyasadeva and it becomes troublesome as it is my responsibility to pass everything to you. My responsibility or position is to be a transparent via media.
Nothing should stop that. If anything stops then it becomes translucent and if nothing goes through then it becomes opaque. Our position is like that of a lens meant to magnify just like a telescope. Between the eye and a distant object. You look through the telescope through a series of lenses making distant objects closer, that is the role of the spiritual master. This is a special kind of arrangement that enhances the vision. Another example in this context would be glasses. The glasses enhance my vision. If I take off my glasses, I cannot see you all but if I put them back on, I can see clearly. The role of the spiritual master should be very clear about his link with his spiritual master that is Srila Prabhupada. In our case it is clear that Srila Prabhupada is our spiritual master. When you see through the context of the institution Srila Prabhupada is The spiritual master of everyone, that concept is becoming more and clearer.
Mistakes of the early days were made by seniors who assumed the role of the spiritual master due to the lack of experience. These grievous mistakes were made and we learnt a big lesson and are still learning. Srila Prabhupada’s position is now clear. These mistakes caused massive damage to individuals, collectively and the institution. The mistake was made because Srila Prabhupada’s position was not made clear. With the passing of time, it will be clear. The book written by Ravindra Swarupa prabhu is there and this is not the end only the beginning and it’s giving us the concept and the lead. If you claim but all Srila Prabhupada’s quotes are not there then get all the quotes and put it into practice is your own life. In just a position paper you cannot expect everything to be there. A time will come when we will all recognise it’s like Jesus in Christianity, Muhammed in Islam, ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada’s sampradaya and we should not be afraid or shy to establish Srila Prabhupada in that position. The more and more we establish Srila Prabhupada’s position the more secure ISKCON will be.
Srila Prabhupada’s books are the basis, temples are the units and the devotees are the warriors to fight the battle against Kali. Srila Prabhupada has equipped us with all the arms and weapons to fight Kali and we will make his life so hellish that he will have to hide in some remote cave or under water. Military strength is derived from two aspects:
- Expert guidance of the general and
- Loyalty of the servants.
This battle against Kali can be won by this wonderful arrangement of Srila Prabhupada for Lord Chaitanya’s mission. We are so fortunate to be here. We must reconfirm our dedication to Srila Prabhupada. This time it is not only to remember but to recommit to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet through a grand fire sacrifice reconfirming our commitment to Srila Prabhupada. It’s not just a ceremony of external celebration but an internal commitment. When I was in London someone asked me why do British nationalists go to the Middle East to fight? They are all educated individuals so why would they do this irrational indulgence? My response was that youth want excitement and they do not see the cause. Excitement is what is drawing them there. If we can create that excitement in ISKCON can you imagine how many will join? In the early days it was exciting to have joined the Hare Krishna movement, to shave your head, to chant Hare Krishna, to follow the four regulative principles. This was unusual those days and that was what made it so exciting.
We must rekindle that excitement again in a positive way We will fight with the weapon of love. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brought Nama prema, the holy name and distributed love. In this incarnation of the Lord there was no so-called weapon as in the other incarnations. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a very special weapon and what was that weapon? Its love. If you want to kill me, go ahead I will still love you. Krishna Consciousness will destroy the violent atmosphere of this age. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said to be more tolerant than a tree, cut the tress and the tree will still give shade and even some fruits. We see you as a part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead therefore you are my brothers and sisters and the common father is in the centre and we are related to each other especially in ISKCON. First charity begins at home, first demonstrate our love. What is the hindrance to love? Hatred and hatred are demonstrated through quarrel and conflict. Kali is influencing and working through quarrel and conflict. Avoid that through love. Tell them I love you no matter what you are doing. Proper demonstration to Lord Chaitanya’s mission trinadapi sunicena reminds us what our business is. We have nothing to gain we prepared to lose everything because we know what is the cause we fighting for. Establish Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Thank you very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
4. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- Do not hesitate to depend on Krishna. Just surrender to Him and He will give you everything you need;
- I appeared before you in my physical form and made you aware that my instructions are non-different from me. In my instructions, I am unchanging and eternal. That is where you will find me. If you love me then come and associate with my instructions, embrace them with all sincerity and make them your existence.;
- Kali is influencing and working through quarrel and conflict. Avoid that through love. Tell them I love you no matter;
- We have nothing to gain we prepared to lose everything because we know what is the cause we fighting for. Establish Krishna Consciousness all over the world; and
- ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada’s sampradaya and we should not be afraid or shy to establish Srila Prabhupada in that position. The more and more we establish Srila Prabhupada’s position the more secure ISKCON will be.
5. A POEM FROM ALL YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS DEAR FATHER
Happy Vyasa Puja our dearmost spiritual father
We pray that the Lord and Srila Prabhupada
bestow you with many more Vyasa pujas and
good health because you are our only wealth.
We need you so much more than you know
And even all our love and service cannot repay
you for what we owe.
We thank you for accepting us all
Even though we may stumble and fall
Your love and guidance is what keeps us alive
The secret tonic that enables us to survive
Your heart is so soft and overflowing with love
So pure and selfless it comes from high above
Your tender words of encouragement when we feeling down
Gives us hope and takes away our frown.
You are an expert in everything you do
A rare quality only in a very special few
A perfect gentleman ever so sweet
Always making time for all of us to meet.
Your unalloyed love for Srila Prabhupada makes you shine so bright
It melts our stone hearts to see such a beautiful sight.
Your humility and compassion is your divine beauty
Making us want to follow in your footsteps automatically.
Your eloquent lectures is an ocean of nectar
Making us thirsty for more and more
Opening the door to the spiritual world.
When we your children see
how you love your Godbrothers
we can understand that’s how we should love each other
Thank you for every single thing
You are the most important person to us
Whom we love, adore and trust.
Please forgive our childish ways and ignorance
dear father and eternally keep us engaged in your service eternally.
From all your sons and daughters.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on a Lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on 17th September 2014 at ISKCON Chatsworth, Durban, South Africa for the memorial festival of Srila Prabhupada and the Vyasa puja celebration.)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)